


Solvent

by FishEyenoMiko



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen, Nudity, Sensory Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 07:16:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2058906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FishEyenoMiko/pseuds/FishEyenoMiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what he longed for, the dissolution of his physical body.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Solvent

**Author's Note:**

> Solvent (n.) something that eliminates or attenuates something especially unwanted  
> Beta: [AvatarMN](http://archiveofourown.org/users/AvatarMN)

As addictions went, it was probably the most benign one Sherlock had indulged in. No introducing dangerous chemical into his bloodstream, no getting entangled with people who might want to kill him, no large expenditures of money with little or no reward.

He undressed, setting his clothes on one of the chairs. John was kneeling next to the tank, checking the temperature and saline content. Anther good thing about this particular vice: John not only accepted it, he approved of it.

"All right, it's ready," John said. "How long you wanna be in it today?"

"Forty-five minutes."

"That's all?" Sherlock just gave him a look. "Ok, ok." John set the timer.

The door opened, and Sherlock stepped in. He lay down, the salt water keeping him afloat. The door closed slowly, the soft music the sensory deprivation tank played fading to nothing, and soon he was surrounded by silence and darkness. Both the water underneath him and the air above him were body temperature, and it wasn't long until he ceased to really perceive them. The last problem, the smell of the salt water, took a bit longer to get used to, but eventually it, too, faded. Finally, he could sense nothing, feel nothing, as if his body ceased to exist.

This what why he was here, what he longed for whenever he entered the tank: The dissolution of his physical body, so there was nothing but his mind, his thoughts. In this state, connections were made even easier than usual, memories he was sure he'd lost came back, normally difficult revelations came to him with ease. He would stay like this forever if he could, just a brain in a tank. He knew he couldn't though; the body he found so easy to ignore in this state still had needs and wants, and even if he could remain here, they'd make themselves known eventually.

Sherlock didn't let himself think of that, though. He focused, instead, on useful things. In the forty-five minutes he had--probably closer to thirty after he'd stopped sensing his body--he solved over a dozen cases, thought of five useful experiments he could run, and came up with a novel way to thank John for his patience (and to apologize in advance for the chaos some of the aforementioned experiments would no doubt wreak on their kitchen). 

All too soon, soft music reached Sherlock's ears, and dim lights reminded him that his eyes still existed. He righted himself in the tank, sitting on the bottom as the door opened. As always, John had turned up the heat and turned down the lights to help ease Sherlock's transition out of the tank.

"Here," John said softly, holding out a big, soft towel for him.

"Thanks," he replied, taking the towel and stepping out of the tank, back into the normal world, and the acknowledgement of his own body.


End file.
